Wen Hsiu Quan

Hello, everyone! I hope you have also had a good morning's workout and that you are having an awesome weekend. Today I am at the last post in a series of posts that got written for my friend Nicolas in the U.S.. Nicolas loves sword-fighting and is into HEMA and Lightsabre League battles. Even though weapons training is not a big thing with me I do practice with weapons on Saturday mornings. To me, however, it is more of a physical workout than training for an actual fight using the weapon. That does not mean that I do not practice fighting techniques at all. So- how does one get a physical workout while practicing fighting techniques? Well... One way is with forms! In the previous posts we have looked at some exercises that are also basic attack and defense moves. We can string all these together in a single pattern that can get practiced regularly. This way our bodies get used to doing all the movements that we need it to do when we use the sword. Here is our form f...

Hello, everyone and welcome back. Last week I have posted some basic techniques in the form of warm-up evercises that can be practiced over and over. Those exercises are done standing in one place with only one exercise that has some shifting back and forth- with one foot. Sticking the blade into the other guy is simple when the other guy is within range and standing still. You will not necessarily want to start fighting from within range, though. Once you realise that you are in the kind of fight where not stabbing first means that you might not get to stab at all, starting from out of the opponent's reach and closing the gap between you when you have your chance to stab becomes an important skill to have. Fencing with a partner will of course help, but you have to first prepare your body for the job that it has to do. The first drill is actually a good way of getting into Wudang Kung Fu's footwork. You might recognise the cat/ tiger stance that I use in this video. ...

Hello, everyone. A week ago I was chatting with one of my martial arts friends on Facebook- Nicolas Killen- and we somehow ended up talking about swords. Now- you will know from previous posts (very recent posts) that I have a Katana and a Jian. Nicolas said that he would like to learn a bit about Chinese swordfighting and I said I would gladly help out, so- During the weekends to come I am going to post some basic lessons for use of the Jian- or- Chinese straight sword. The one that I have has a dull flexible blade. I have not seen any with sharpened blades, though-  So- I don't entertain any fantasies of dismembering or decapitating anyone... It does not render the weapon ineffective, though... To use the sword properly you need to understand its design. The sword has one section designated for defense and 3 for attacking. Let's look at these parts from the handle up... The pommel often has a tassle attached to it. It can ...

Today we are at the second last chapter in this series about weapons with which I regularly practice. Of all weapons that I have collected I respect the katana the most. I almost never practice with it, rather using the bokken that I have. I am sure that what I have to say here can be said for some other weapons as well, but this is what I have learnt from studying the Japanese sword: Movies tend to show off weapons with a lot of twirling and excessive movement. With the katana, however, I have come to appreciate the value of being able to get the job done with as little movement as possible. Few weapons teaches one the value of timing and distance like the katana. Lastly- I find it the easiest weapon to wield in a Zen state of mind. Being a fairly simple weapon that does not have any chains, moving parts, extra handles or such it gives you very little to think about while fighting. Still- it is what I call a Final Weapon....

Of all the weapons that I have collected, this one was the last. Liking Ninjutsu and the weapons that I have seen in many Ninja movies- the Jian or Chinese Straight Sword was not high on my list of weapons to get. Besides- if there was a sword to get the Japanese Katana would be the ultimate sword to have, right? Right...? As it would happen, though- after finishing high school I have developed an increasing love for Kung Fu and Chinese martial arts movies. I am running the risk of seriously digressing here and we have not yet even started, but, let me say this- My boss at the time- Mrs Ku- opened my eyes to a whole new world of martial arts movies when she showed me this movie called the Duel. You might not know this, but among martial arts movies in China- the Jian has a whole genre (or maybe sub-genre) of movies dedicated to it. The most famous movie in this genre is definitely Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon that I have seen 20 times so far. Needless to say- soon...

When I was 16 I have found this passage in the Book of Five Rings.  And that amounts for as much as what I know about fighting multiple opponents and double weapons today. My Saturday morning workouts always include a single bokken for katana practice. Shairley has however recently given me a shorter bokken to match the black one I have. (I have a natural colour varnished one as well). So- Now having the katana and wakizashi I was eager to get see how I handle the weight of a long sword being held in only one hand. For those who don't know- This posture is Happo Biraki ("Open on eight sides"). This is a posture suited for being surrounded by multiple opponents. One thing that really feels "wrong" about this entire exercise is that the two weapons are not balanced like my sai  or tonfa .  Juji Dome- Cross Guard. The katana was further designed to be a "hand-held guilotine"- its cutting ability being optimal when both ha...